MBB: Midwest Conference

[The Roop]

My beloved Pointers would welcome him if Mr. Semling ever ascends to another level.

I find it interesting that you haven't made an effort to head down to Quandt from Wausau in the past.  It's only 1/2 hour away!  I also noticed you changed your Roopachino or whatever, to the Pointer dog.  Funny stuff.

I've thought about going a few times but I wasn't sure where Quandt was and the impression I had was that it was always sold out. I'll make up for it this season though. May even get season tickets. In the mean time I will work on a new logo to replace the Pointer Dog.

[Buc Fan]

Dolph -  I am pretty sure that Beloit has always had a swim coach, I don't think that Burris added that position.  As for the AD and Assistant Football..... Hows that working out?  I don't know how any department that has had more changes than BCs. The two MWC titles are great accomplishments but I would not get used to that with BC, it takes a lot for everything to fall in place and win a championship.  Let alone 2 in the same year.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Not to pick on April anymore - she DID raise an interesting point.  I wonder how many coaches in d3 these days DO coach only one sport.  I'm sure it is more common now than when I was at IWU nearly 40 years ago, but Dennie Bridges (the great basketball coach) was also my tennis coach, and Don Larsen (the extremely successful football coach) doubled as my track coach (both also had a full-load of PE classes).  As I recall, there were only four faculty (and they WERE faculty) in the athletic department, and they collectively coached every sport IWU offered (though that was far fewer than today).

I'm sure things have changed a great deal, but I wonder if this isn't still the norm at a majority of d3 schools.  And even at the nationally competitive schools, I wonder how many coaches are allowed to focus on only one sport (I seem to recall that even Larry Kehres (Mount Union's football coach) also works with the track team, though I'm hazy on that).  Anyone have any numbers on basketball coaches who have no other responsibilities?

It's a dying art.  I heard this topic come up on one of the national sports talk radio shows during the height of the d1 coaching carousel.  The point was that coaches are now paid to be coaches, whereas they used to be hired as part of the faculty or with some other major connection to the school.  Essentially they're industries unto themselves.  Few if any d1 coaches even teach PE anymore, unless its a class full of their own players.  In fact, it seems fewer and fewer d3 coaches are teaching classes.    Legendary Loyola Marymount coach Paul Westhead maintained a full load of classes in the English department during his tenure as basketball coach.

It's certainly more of a d1 topic and coaching golf isn't exactly something that ties one to the university, but its an interesting thought

[Mr. Ypsi]

HF,

Yeah, I knew that the two(or more)-sport coach was a near-extinct breed in d1 (I can't think of any who even do such 'natural' combos as track and cross country); I'm just surprised that this has become so much the case in d3.  I'll take Pat's word for it that 'the vast, vast majority' of d3 bball coaches coach no other sport, but I would have thought it still quite common at the smaller, poorer (i.e., the majority of d3!) schools.  How times have changed!

[Pat Coleman]

These days, coaches with extra responsibilities primarily are ADs, assistant ADs, or teach classes.

[Greek Tragedy]

I've thought about going a few times but I wasn't sure where Quandt was and the impression I had was that it was always sold out. I'll make up for it this season though. May even get season tickets. In the mean time I will work on a new logo to replace the Pointer Dog.

Platteville, Whitewater and Oshkosh are the big games, though I don't think they actually sell out.  Tourney games sometimes do.

[augiefan]

I was talking about the successful WBB program during the era you suggest, particularly during the tenure of the coach who became an assistant at ND. The volleyball team and womens' tennis and soccer were also on my list of MWC programs that competed for MWC championships.

Let's be realistic a Beloit grad's great expectations consist of our teams being competitive for MWC championships not National recognition. Very few MWC schools can claim that level of excellence other than the recent success in MBB and maybe a few minor sports programs like Grinnell's swim team.

Bob Nichols was the swim coach, when I was at Beloit. I think he also was a FB asst. coach, but my memory is hazy on that one. I know Bill Knapton coached golf and baseball on occasion while he was running a top flight MBB program.

I am unclear as to why Vraney is doomed to failure before he even starts his new job as Whatthebucs implies. Why would that be the case, if Vraney is or proves to be a good coach and recruiter? I knew Cecil Youngblood, when he was an assistant at Augie, in the early 90s, and my impression was well suited to be an assistant to Steve Yount but not necessarily a good head coach candidate. I am sorry that it proved to be the case during his disappointing tenure at Beloit.

[Buc Fan]

I do not think Vraney is doomed to failure at Beloit, my point was that I think there was not the support for the old as there will be with the new.  I am a huge BC sports fan and wish the team and Coach Vraney the best, I hope they win it all.  We will have to wait and see.

[Dolph Stanley]

I do not think Vraney is doomed to failure at Beloit, my point was that I think there was not the support for the old as there will be with the new.  I am a huge BC sports fan and wish the team and Coach Vraney the best, I hope they win it all.  We will have to wait and see.

What evidence of this do you have?  If they had hired Randall and given him multiple recruiting exemptions, paid full time assistant, larger than expected salary, etc then perhaps this claim would have had some validity.  As it stands now, seems like just another way of making excuses when the new coach outperforms the old one.

[Greek Tragedy]

As it stands now, seems like just another way of making excuses when the new coach outperforms the old one.

Is it really going to be that hard to outperform Youngblood? 

[The Roop]

Here's a theory.............. Cecil takes the program and after a few years gets back into the conference tournament, then it falls off again. If you change coaches after that it appears legitimate. But when you wait until a couple good recruiting classes come in, and the program looks like it's about to sustain itself, a coaching change gives the impression that somebody is trying to put their own mark on the program. So I can see why whatthebuc thinks there will be more support now than in the past.

[bucs r bust]

I really am curious why there are so many Cecil haters???  Is it just because he didn't win?  I have been a reader for the past 7 or 8 years and still don't really understand what everyones beef is. Just curious.

[Pat Coleman]

Wow. You lurked for a loooooooooong time.

[diehardfan]

Wow. You lurked for a loooooooooong time.

Seriously... I bow to your willpower not to post.

[The Roop]

I really am curious why there are so many Cecil haters???  Is it just because he didn't win?  I have been a reader for the past 7 or 8 years and still don't really understand what everyones beef is. Just curious.

I don't have a beef with him, other than last years non-conference schedule, which I did bring up to him. I just think that the coach is always the first person that gets the blame when things don't go well. But as many have said there is more to the problem there and I'm not sure it has been resolved now.

Will Vraney do better than Cecil did ?? Yes, but I don't think it's a fair comparison. Coach Vraney is starting with a full tank whereas Cecil took over a program that was running on vapors. People forget that and people also forget that Knapton had to resort to using players from intramural squads because of the recruiting standards.